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Tuesday, April 1, 2014

A is for Angelica

A-Z Challenge. 
My theme is herbs.
A is for Angelica

Angelica has been
used as a medical
herb since 1665, year
of the Great
Plague. The Am.
Indians used this
herb to treat
broncial colds
and congested
resiratory tract.

The plant is a
member of the parsley family and has a strong tangy odor with a
sweetish to burning taste.  All parts of the plant are used and the
Chinese recognize this as "dong quai."

I use Angelica in a recipe for the liver, along with dandelion,
wormwood, and gentian.

Other Uses:  The stem can be steamed and eaten like
asparagus. The leaves can be brewed into a fne tea and the oil
of the root can be added to bathwater for a relaxing soak.

Medical Use:  It induces sweating, stimulates blood
circulation, liver function, ulcers and indigestion.  It has
also been known to help alzheimers patients.


39 comments:

  1. Hi Manzanita .. I've never eaten angelica - other than when it's been crystallised and used as a cake decoration .. if it ever gets to the cake once it's in my sticky paws! Cheers and I love the lore behind it .. Hilary

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hilary
      I've mostly used the dried Angelica in a recie for the liver. I've done it a couple of times and will again. You'll have your cake and eat it too. Ha

      Delete
  2. Cool - I had never heard of this herb before. Sounds like a good remedy for a variety of ills!

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    1. Keith
      Sorry to hear you are not doing the challenge. I'll give you my pom poms and you can cheer lead

      Delete
  3. It's taken me a few years, but I'm really starting to get into the herbs and oils. I haven't come across this one yet. I'm definitely adding it to my list. :)

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    1. author,
      Herbs are wonderfull healers. I tried to comment on your blog but I couldn't see where. What a wonderful book you wrote.

      Delete
  4. I still have a little bit of the angelica that you sent me. We need to do a liver cleanse again soon.
    I didn't know the Chinese called it dong quai.

    Happy Cleansing to you!! Much Love

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    Replies
    1. Terry
      Yes, when we are finished with the present cleanses, we'll do the liver again. I had flu like symptoms yesterday after we talked. Felt miserable in the PM. Yay.... I'm sure I was discharging. i feel great this morning. I love it when they work.

      Delete
    2. "when we are finished with the present cleanses we'll do the liver one again"
      Is it necessary to do so many cleanses? How many cleanses would you do in a year? And why?

      Delete
  5. didn't even know it was an herb

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    Replies
    1. Adam
      Indeed it is and there are plenty more good ones where that came from. Wait and see. haha

      Delete
  6. Maybe it could get the circulation going, as many days mine kinda sucks haha

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    Replies
    1. Pat
      I've got a lot of good herbs coming to print. Wait and see if you particularly like any.

      Delete
  7. wow! How cool was this???? Thanks!

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    Replies
    1. Zoe
      Way cool. Hope you are enjoying this A day of the challenge.

      Delete
  8. I love learning about the benefits of herbs. Thanks for sharing your knowledge!

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    Replies
    1. Joy
      this is a great day for the beginning of the challenge. I still have a lot of herbs up my sleeve. Haha

      Delete
  9. Once again I'm going to be learning so wonderful new things. I'm so happy you're in the challenge for another year!

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    Replies
    1. Bish
      Again we're doing this.... is it # 4? I think so. Have a beautiful A-Day.

      Delete
  10. Karen
    Another day, another herb.....

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  11. Thank you for sharing this Manzi. I wonder if I should start make a journal of herbs and their uses. This one sounds like it helps on many fronts. I remember when you wrote about your liver cleanse.

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  12. Robin
    There are so many herbs out there that say they help with migraines. I don't know as I've never had one but when I read that I always think of you. I'll have an herb a day so there will be more coming. I'm glad you are doing the challenge this year.

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  13. So many herbs to know about. The herbal shops in China were the most fascinating stops and there were so many, each with it's unique touch. Loved learning about Angelica.

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    Replies
    1. Cleemckenzie
      I really love the Chinese herbs and I wish I knew more about them. I lived in Florida for 25 years an saw a Chinese acurpuncturist twice a month. They had a huge herb room in the back and it was fun to watch them fill a paper bag with a little of this and a nip of that. It was difficult to ask questions because hardly anyone spoke English. Ha Wish I could go to China too.

      Delete
  14. I wonder if theres a herb/food thats good for tinnitus? Fascinating subject.

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    Replies
    1. Spacerguy
      I'm sure there is as herbs were used for healing way before the chemical drugs of the allopathic doctors. Natural healing rarely uses the western names as for example ..... tinnitus. That is really an annoying afliction. Natural healers would cleanse the body first and then give herbs and diet for any internal organs that are weak because the ringing prob stems from something unrelated to the ear.

      Delete
    2. I've had tinnitus most of my life and can say with 100% certainty that it is much worse following doses of painkillers. Most of the time I barely notice it, but when I've had pain enough to take panadol or panadeine or even aspirin, the fuzzy noises and ringing are much louder for up to three weeks.

      Delete
  15. I'm sure I used to have this growing in our garden (well our old garden) at one time. . . I think it grew quite tall if i remember correctly

    . Rob Z Tobor

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    Replies
    1. Rob
      You may have found it in your garden and if it was in a garden, I'm sure it was the real deal. But, if gathering it wild, one has to be very careful as the plant can be mistaken for poison Hemlock. Yes, Angelica can reach 4 to 5 feet tall. It's a stout hollow stemmed plant and at a passing glance resembles celery plant.

      Delete
  16. Funny I had heard about dong quai but did not know about Angelica being the same. I am looking forward to this challenge to learn more. Very interesting.

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    1. Patti
      There are many varities of Angelica and I understand dong quai is made of of several or more of these different Angelica plants.
      The Chinese are so clever when it comes to herbs..... but so were the American Indians.

      Delete
  17. I've never seen this herb before but had heard of it and know it's been around for a long time.
    Merle...........

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    Replies
    1. Merle
      It has been healing way before the allopathic drugs. It's been a favorite of mine. I thought of you as I got 3 baby chicks. I think I'll get one more as you are only allowed to keep 3 but don't we always push the limit?

      Delete
  18. Interesting. Does it taste like asparagus? Yummy one.

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    1. Julia
      I've never eaten it but I just heard that people often carmalize the stems because the plant is bitter. It head it's a delicacy as a sweet. i've just used the dried plant.

      Delete
  19. Herbs do a lot of good, looking forward to the posts

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    Replies
    1. Holy Ghost
      Thanks..... They do good indeed. The ony thing I ever use.

      Delete
  20. I haven't heard of it until now. I'll be taking notes on your A-Z, I can already see it coming. :)

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  21. Manzi dear, I heard the name of this plant before but not sure if I ever knew how it looks like. Now I know! :) You have chosen a very interesting topic for your A to Z! I am tuned! ))
    p.s. thank you for your recent visit to my blog. So glad you got some visual pleasure at my place! ♥

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